Injustice: Gods Among Us (comics)
Injustice: Gods Among Us is an American comic book series that serves as the prequel to the Injustice: Gods Among Us fighting video game. The series takes place in an alternate reality, where Superman descends into tyranny following his family's death at the Joker's hands and establishes a totalitarian One Earth Regime. In response, Batman forms an insurgency to fight back against the Regime. The series was written by Tom Taylor and Brian Buccellato, and illustrated by a number of artists, including Jheremy Raapack, Mike S. Miller, Bruno Redondo, Tom Derenick and others. It was released digitally by DC Comics from January 2013 to September 2016, and was later released in physical comic book form and collected in trade paperback and hardcover editions. Plot The story is split into the five years preceding the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game. Year One to Year Four sees Superman's totalitarian regime fighting against one enemy after another: Year One features the Insurgency led by Batman against the Justice League led by Superman. Year Two features Superman's fight against the Green Lantern Corps. Year Three introduces magic users such as John Constantine, the Spectre, Deadman, Zatanna and Doctor Fate, who aid the Insurgency, although it is revealed at the end of Year Three that Constantine was fighting for his own selfish reasons. Year Four introduces the Greek Gods, revealing Ares’ scheme to empower himself through escalating the conflict between the Regime and the Insurgency into a war by involving his fellow gods alongside enlisting the aid of Darkseid. This leads to a confrontation between Zeus and Highfather during which the latter convinces Zeus to stop being manipulated by Ares' scheme after which the gods leave, with Zeus decreeing that they shall never return to Earth. Year Five sees a desperate last stand from Batman, a small handful of the remaining Insurgents and Lex Luthor to establish a link to the Prime Universe Justice League and call them for help. The end of Year Five serves as the direct precursor to the game. The game's storyline then picks up from there, and the storyline is told from Harley Quinn's perspective in the Injustice: Ground Zero comic series. Publication history The series was announced by Ed Boon on October 5, 2012 at the EB Games Expo. The first issue was released digitally on January 15, 2013, by writer Tom Taylor and artist Jheremy Raapack, and subsequent issues were released weekly. The digital issues were later collected and issued in monthly print comic book form, and eventually in collected editions. In December 2014, Taylor announced that he would be leaving the series after writing Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Three digital issue #14 (print issue #7), with Brian Buccellato replacing him by continuing the story into Year Four and Five. The final digital issue of the series was released on September 20, 2016, stopping right before the plot of the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game. Sequels and spin-offs Another comic book series, titled Injustice: Ground Zero, followed the Injustice comic prequels. This series was a retelling of the game's events from Harley Quinn's perspective. Taylor and Bruno Redondo returned as the writer and artist respectively for the sequel comic book series Injustice 2 which began publication in May 2017. The series takes place between the events of the first game and its sequel, Injustice 2. A miniseries known as Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe featuring a crossover with the Masters of the Universe franchise was first published on July 18, 2018, by DC Comics. It is written by Tim Seeley with art by Freddie Williams II. and follows the second game's alternative ending, where Superman wins out over Batman. Reception Critical The series was well-received by critics. According to review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, Year One as a whole scored an average of 8.6/10 based on 115 reviews, Year Two averaged 8.4/10 based on 115 reviews, Year Three averaged 8.3/10 based on 122 reviews, Year Four averaged 7.4/10 based on 77 reviews, and Year Five averaged 8.1/10 based on 134 reviews. Accolades *2013 IGN People's Choice Award for Best Digital Comic Series *2014 IGN Best Digital Comic Series *2014 IGN People's Choice Award for Best Digital Comic Series Collected editions The Injustice: Gods Among Us series is collected in several trade paperbacks and hardcovers. References Category:DC Comics titles Category:Injustice (franchise) Category:Works based on Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment video games Category:2013 comics debuts Category:2016 comics endings